A common-law trust consisting of solomon stod



1,485,591 F. A. BULrLlNGTON ROTARY ENGINE March 4 1924.

Fyz,

INVENTOR.

BVM y?? F. A. BULLNGTON ROTARY ENGINE March 4 @924. l 1,485,591

F11-ed oct. 20, 1919 2 sheets-snee; 2

Patented Mar. 4, 1924.

UNITED STATES FATENT vOFFICE..

FRANK A. BULLINGTON, OF PORTLAND, OREGON, ASSIGNOR 'LO BULLINGTONMOTORS,

0F KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, A COMMON fLAW TRUST CONS'IS'IING OF SOLOMONSTOD- DAB/D, ERNEST E. HOWARD, AND FRANK EUIFJLIDItlr'JON'.A

ROTARY ENGINE.

Application led October 20, 1919.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK A. BULLING- '.roN, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing in the city of Portland, county of Multnomah and Stateof Oregon, have invented certain new and useful mprovements in Rota-ryEngines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to rotary engines of the character referred to inmy pending applications, Serial Numbers 240,443 and 278,880 and Case332,858 simultaneously herewith.

The salient objects of this invention will be apparent from thefollowing description, taken in connection with the accompanying sheetsof drawings illustrating one embodiment of my invention, and in which,-

Figure l is a vertical longitudinal sectional view of my improvedengine;

Figure`2 is a vertical sectional'viewl transversely ofthe axis thereof,taken on line 2-2 of Fig. l;

Figure 3 is a top plan view thereof, with the upper half of the casingremoved and with parts shown in section;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line 4--4 of Figs. 1and 3;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary sectional View of piston casing and twopistons, showing improved spark plug.

Referring now more in detail to the drawings, my invention as hereillustrated, comprises a piston casing 1, of substantially oval shapeincross section and of circular form in side elevation. Within the pistoncasing 1 is a piston chamber 2, of semi-circular form in cross section,with pistons 3 and 3 and 4 and 4 rotatable therein, the pis tons 3 and 3being connected to the outer ends of piston arm 5, having a hub portion6, keyed to a main shaft 7, rotatably mounted in bearing supports 8 and9 at the opposite sides of the piston casing 1. The pistons 4 and 4 areconnected to the outer ends of the piston arm 10, having a hub sleeve11, turningy upon'and turning with the main shaft `7,. Said pistons areof semi-circular form in lcross section, andrhave straight inner sidesand are provided at their opposite ends with two sets of piston rings 12and 12. The piston rings of each set are spaced apart, as clearlyindicated in Fig. 2.

Serial No. 332,859.

Said pistons also have the piston lips 3a, 3b I and 4a and 4". Thepiston lip of one piston underlies the adjacent piston and forms aninner wall for the chamber formed between the piston bodies.Circumferentially positioned sealing rings ldare located in the oppositesides of the casing and bear against the opposite sides or edges ofsaidpistons and piston lips.

Said piston casing 1 is provided with ex terior ribs or members 13,extending longitudinally of the axis of the casing and spacedcircumferentially thereof. Said ribs are covered or enclosed by-a memberor outer wall 14,`whereby to form circulating passageways 13V betweensaid ribs and within said enclosing member 14, as indicated in Figs. 1and 2. Said enclosing member 14 is provided with inlets at 14a, atopposite sides, and with an outlet 14b circumferentially thereof. Theoutlet 14b communicates with a circumferentially disposed conduit member15, shown in cross sectionin Fig. 1, and'in circumferential'section inFig. 2. Said conduit 15 is connected at opposite sides with pipes 16,16, which are connected at their other ends with a chamber 17, open to afan 18, connectedwwith a balance wheel 19, mounted on the outer end ofthe main shaft 7, wherebyv the action of said fan and balance wheeloperates: to cause a circula4 tion of air through chambers'13 and theconduit 15 for the purpose of cooling the piston casingpl. Alsoconnected with the suction chamber 17 is a conduit member 20, connectedwith anv auxiliary exhaust port 21, in the piston casing 1, shown inFigs. land 2.l Said casing'l provided at its opposite side with intakemembers 22, to which air is supplied throughr a pipe 23, connected withan air cleaning means 24. Thus clean air can be forced transverselythrough the piston chamber, across the path of the pistons at thispoint, for the purpose of removing all of the burnt gases from thepiston chamber. Formed in the piston casing 1 are two main ports 25 and26, Fi gs. 2 and 3, which are connected by means of pipes or conduits 25and 26', provided at their connected ends with a valve mechanism 27,adapted to connect said conduits 25 and 26', respectively, with theintake supply 28 and with the exhaust outlet 29.

By turning said valve to the position indicated in dotted lines, theconnection of said conduits 25 and, 26 with the intake and exhaust meansis reversed, thus providing simple and practical means for controllingthe direction of rotation of the engine.

Said valve 27 is operated by means of a lever 30, connected with a'control lever 31, adapted in its movements to operate a cir-v cuitcontrolling device comprising two spring members 32 and 33, adapted tobe moved alternately into and out ot contactl with a block or member 34,with which are connected circuit wires 35, of the spark mechanism.Projecting lingers 31a and 31b on the lever 31 operate to accomplish thealternate movements of the spring members 32 and 33. Said lever 31 isalso provided near the fingers 31a and 31b with holding notches 36,adapted to hook over a holding member 37.

The piston casing 1 is provided at its upper side with extensionportions 38, 38, forming sockets to receive spark plugs 39, 39. Saidsockets communicate with the interior of the piston casing through smallports 40, 40, Figs. 1 and 5. Said extension portions 33 project throughrelatively large openings 14c through the outer wall member 14, wherebyair inlet space is provided around said spark plug extensions for theentrance of air for the purpose of cooling said spark plugs.

Referring now more particularly to the larger View in Fig. 5, said sparkplugs each comprise a terminal 39a, carried in an insulation member 39D,secured in the body 39c by means of a bushing 39d. Said body 39 isprovided with an opening 39e which, when the spark plug is in positionin the extension portion 38, registers with and forms a continuation ofthe small port 40 through which the terminal 39a projects, as indicated.The casing wall around the port 40 forms the grounded terminal and thespark is, therefore, formed in said small opening or port 40. Sealingmeans 41 is provided between the body 39c and the interior of theextension 33. By further reference to Fig. 5, it will be seen that twopistons, 3 and 4, in spaced relation are successively passing the sparkport 40, in the direction indicated by the arrow. The piston bodies areslightly smaller than the piston casing and the only sealing meanstherebetween Ais the piston rings 12 and 12', which bear yieldinglyagainst the wall of the casing. As the advancing piston crossed the port40, the gas mixture between the pistons, being under pressure, enteredthe spark plug through the port 40 and surrounded the inner end of theterminal 39a. The parts are shown in position for a spark and explosionto take place. After the explosion takes place the spark plug cavity islilled with burnt gases at high pressure, which operates on theadvancing piston ring, on piston 3, to depress said ring suciently toallow the gas in the chamber formed between said pistons 3 and 4 toescape past the first or advancing piston ring 12. Said gas how ever, isstill confined by piston ring 12. After piston ring 12 passes the port40, it reseats against the casing wall as piston ring 12 registers withthe port 40, and is depressed by the high pressure from within the sparkplug. As piston ring 12 moves past said port 40, an exhaust port 42, inthe piston body 3, comes into register with said port 40, whereby thegas from said spark plug is allowed to escape-into the interior of thepiston body, from which said gases pass to the crank casing 43, asindicated by the arrow shown through the sealing ring R in Fig. 1. Fromthe crank casing said gases escape through the outlet port 44.

I will now describe the operation of the engine as here illustrated.Referring especially to Fig. 2, the chamber between pistons 3 and 4 isshown at the spark plug port 40, ready for an explosion. The pistons ashere shown are turning in a clockwise direction. The chamber betweenpistons 4 and 3 is in a position whereby to commence exhaust actionthrough the exhaust ports 26. The chamber between pistons 3 and 4 is ina position to receive the auxiliary scavenging action of a forced draftof air caused by the fan 18 through said chamber and across the pistoncasing for completely cleaning the chamber before another intake actioncommences. The chamber between pistons 4 and 3 is in a position wherebythe intake of: a further charge of explosive mixture is about completed.These functions will, of course, be readily understood from the showing.It will be understood that the pistons, while moving in the samedirection continuously, have a variable movement which results inincreasing and diminishing the sizes of therespective chambers 'formedbetween adjacent pistons. For example, as pistons 3 and 4 advance fromthe position indicated, where exhaust is commencing, said pistons aremoved together until they reach the positions occupied by pistons 3 and4', where the chamber formed therebetween is at its smallest size. VAsthe following end of the advancing piston 3 reaches the beginning of theauxiliary er;- haust port 21, the advancing end of piston 4 has fullycrossed the main exhaust ports and the completion of the exhaust actionthrough the auxiliary exhaust port 21 takes place, `followed immediatelyby the scavenging action through the elements 23, 24, 21 and 20, Fig. 1.The scavenging action continues through the finishing of the exhaustaction and the beginning of the intake action, and this results inproviding a supply of resh air to the chamber at the beginning of theintake stroke prior to the intake action through the intake ports 25.

Referring now to the connecting and operating crank arms and links whichconnect and operate the shaft 7 and the sleeve 11 and their pistons,theconnections are such that the crank arm 45, connected with the sleeve11, the crank arm 46, connected with the shaft 7, and the crank arm 48,connected with the eccentric shaft 47, are caused to revolve about theirrespective axes and to make possible a variable speed of rotation of oneset of pistons with relation to the other. By means of the balance wheel19 on shaft 7, a uniform rotation is established in shaft 7 and thepistons connected thereto. In order to provide a balanced mechanism, theconnecting links are provided with the counter balance weights, wherebytheir balance on their respective pins 45t and 46h is secured. Thecounter balance weights at the ends of the crank arms 45 and 46 balancesthe combined weight of their respective links and crank pins, while thecounter balance weight d8a, which is smaller, on crank arm 48, balancesthe crank pin 8b thereof.

Thus I have provided a rotary engine having an effective air coolingsystem, with an auxiliary exhaust or scavenging action, with an improvedfan action for operating said cooling system and scavenging action, andwith an improved balanced driving mechanism, whereby greater eiiiciencycan be had. I am aware that many changes can be made in the mechanismshere shown and described without departing from the spirit of myinvention, and I do not, therefore, limit my invention to the showingmade, except as I may be limited by the hereto appended claims.

Iclaim:

1. In a rotary engine, a casing, spaced ribs on the casing, an outletacket surrounding the ribs, co-operating with them to form passage waysbetween the ribs, pistons in the casing, the casing having ports atopposite sides for passing air transversely across the path of thepistons and a single suction means for creating air circulation throughthe casing between said pistons as they pass said ports, said singlesuction means being eiiective in creating air circulation through thepassage ways between the ribs.

2. In a rotary engine, a piston casing, pistons rotatable therein, thecasing having ports at opposite sides for passing air transverselyacross the path of said pistons, and power driven suction means forcreating air circulation through said casing between said pistons asthey pass said ports.

3. In a rotary engine, a casing, pistons mounted to rotate therein andform chambers therebetween, an air cooling system exteriorly of saidcasing, ports through said casing for the passage of air transverselyacross the path of said pistons and through the chambers formedtherebetween, and power driven air circulating suction means connectedwith said air cooling system and said ports which creates aircirculation therethrough.

4. In a rotary engine, a casing, spaced arcuate ribs on the casing, anouter jacket surrounding the ribs and cooperating with them to formpassageways between the ribs, the passageways having air inlets near theaxial center of the casing and outlets at the periphery of the jacket,and means for passing air through the passageways, the jacket having acircumferential air passageway about the outlets of the first-namedpassageways and communicating with each of said first-named passageways.

5. In a rotary engine, having pistons, semi-circular in cross section, acasing inclosing them, of semi-circular form at the piston inclosingportion, spaced arcuate, reinforcing and cooling ribs on the casing inradial, longitudinal planes, an outer jacket surrounding the ribs andco-operating with them to form passage ways between the ribs, thepassage ways having air inlet openings near the axial center of thecasing and an outlet opening intermediate the ends of the passage waysso that air will pass Jfrom opposite ends of the jacket toward themiddle portion to outlet and means for passing air through the passageways.

6. In a rotary engine, having pistons, semi-circular in cross section, acasing inclosing them of semi-circular form at the piston inclosingportion, spaced arcuate, reinforcing and cooling ribs on the casing inradial, longitudinal planes, an outer jacket surrounding the ribs andco-operating with them to form passage ways between the ribs, thepassage ways having air inlet openings near the axial center of thecasing and an outlet opening intermediate the ends of the passage waysso that air will pass from opposite ends of the jacket toward the middleportion to outlet, an outlet conduit communicating with all the passageways intermediate their ends and a suction air circulating means, inco-operative relation with the outlet conduit.

Signed at Portland, Multnomah County, Oregon, this 24th day ofSeptember, 1919.

FRANK A. BULLINGTON. vWitnesses I. M. GRIFFEN, WILLIAM R. LrrzENBnRG.

